Jalen Hurts had a Bryce Harper poster on his wall growing up
The Phillies star was an idol for Hurts, who had ‘baseball dreams’ in high school.
When Jalen Hurts landed the cover of Sports Illustrated’s upcoming NFL preview (September) issue, the significance was not lost on the Eagles quarterback. His childhood bedroom can prove it.
“Being on the cover of SI goes back to my childhood,” Hurts told Sports Illustrated. “I put a couple of different professional athletes on my wall as a kid, and I have a very meaningful wall back home in my room and I tell my mom never to take it down, because I know it’ll be beautiful in the end, when it’s all said and done.”
It comes as no surprise that many of the names Hurts listed as being featured on his wall are fellow quarterbacks, including a pair of former Eagles: Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Cam Newton, and Johnny Manziel. Patrick Peterson, longtime cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals, is up there too.
“All these guys were on the cover, and a lot of them I’ve been able to compete against now,” Hurts said.
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But one name, the first name Hurts mentioned, sticks out from the rest: Bryce Harper.
That’s right. Years before Harper and Hurts became the faces of two Philadelphia sports franchises — and helped lead each of them to the World Series and the Super Bowl months apart — Hurts had Harper’s SI cover on his wall.
“Bryce Harper, who’s a guy in this city. When I had baseball dreams, you know, he was the guy that I always followed and had a lot of respect for,” Hurts said.
Hurts played baseball in high school, though he quit to focus on football after 10th grade. He’s since shown off some of his old skills, taking batting practice with the Phillies and hitting a walk-off home run in DeVonta Smith’s charity softball game last year.
Harper made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a 16-year-old, in June 2009. Hurts was 10 when the “Baseball’s Chosen One” cover story was released and 14 when Harper made his MLB debut for the Washington Nationals and won NL Rookie of the Year.
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“Seeing all the great athletes on the cover, a lot of athletes that I watched for my whole entire life, that I’ve looked up to, and had a lot of admiration for,” Hurts said. “To be that figure for the next generation, coming into this time, this season, it’s an exciting thing.”
Now the question is: will Harper return the favor and put Hurts’ new cover on his wall?